Synoptic Perspectives

This book compares and contrasts several parallel passages in the Hebrew Bible that relate to the David narratives. Lydie Kucová examines various ancient versions of the books of Samuel-Kings and Chronicles, showing how the David story is told differently across these textual witnesses.

Beginning with a review of the previous scholarly synopses of these passages, Kucová outlines the main characteristics of the particular ancient versions that are significant for her study (Masoretic text, Dead Sea scrolls, Septuagint, Targums, Peshitta and Josephus related to the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles). She then proceeds to compare elements of the two separate accounts of David's reign, such as Saul's death, the Philistine campaigns, the transfer of the Ark, among others. Rather than imply any correlation between the texts, Kucová instead provides a parallel of David narratives for more convenient in-depth study.